IT WAS starting to feel like déjà vu for Brodie Kemp.

Last season, when Carlton looked destined to finally snap its long finals drought, the club's former first-round pick had been struck by the realisation that he wouldn't be playing regardless. Out of the team, fighting form and fitness issues, Kemp sought to use that feeling as motivation if the Blues ever looked bound for success again.

But, come round six this year, Kemp was still locked out of Carlton's best side. Suddenly, he felt the nightmare was repeating itself. The Blues had ambitions to end their September hoodoo and had started well in their hopes of making the top-eight, only Kemp wasn't part of the side and wasn't sure he would be.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't think it would happen," Kemp told AFL.com.au.

"Last year, when it was looking like we were going to play finals before those heartbreaking losses late in the season, I remember sitting there and thinking to myself, 'Gee … I really want to be part of something like this'. But I knew that if we went on to play finals, I wasn't going to be. I was in the twos.

"That feeling of being close, but not there, that was the main driver for me. I didn't want to miss out this year. Whether that was as a defender, or anywhere, I just really wanted it. But even earlier this season, there was still no way I'd have thought I'd be playing in the finals. I'm glad I am."

Kemp's emergence as an integral piece of Carlton's backline, playing alongside the team's primary key defender in Jacob Weitering, has been a significant part of the club's improvement throughout the second half of the campaign.

Structurally, he has provided a reliable deputy to Weitering. But statistically, he has also been among the League's best key defenders. Champion Data notes that Kemp rates 'above average' for disposals (15.9 per game), metres gained (237m), marks (6.8) and pressure points (17.1) this season, while he has also ranked 13th in the AFL for intercept marks since round 12, averaging 2.8 per match.

The fact Kemp had previously found senior opportunities difficult to come by was hardly his fault, either. He had arrived at Ikon Park midway through his recovery from a torn ACL, before going down with a syndesmosis injury and ongoing back problems almost immediately after returning. The setbacks plagued a career trajectory that had once looked unbelievably exciting.

"It was frustrating," Kemp said.

"At the time, I didn't know that it was because I'd come into the club and I was straight into rehab. It was all I really knew. It was when I'd get a little taste of being back, then have another injury … at that time, it was obviously annoying and upsetting.

"I had some issues with my back last year, but I did a lot of work in the off-season to get that right. It was a bit of Pilates and a lot of mobility work, coming in here early before pre-season started. It's paid off big time, it's the best I've felt this season. Certainly, it's as home as I've felt."

The brutality and the timing of Kemp's injuries led to him experiencing doubts around whether he would ever fulfil his potential, the type that had many recruiters of the belief that the versatile 193cm prospect could have been a top-five selection before sustaining an ACL injury playing school footy for Geelong Grammar in 2019. He ultimately slid to pick No.17 in his draft year, where Carlton grabbed him, before playing just six games in his first three years on the club's list.

This season arrived and with it came the added pressure of it being a contract year for Kemp. Having started the campaign stuck in the VFL until round six, there were moments when he feared his footy dream was heading towards a premature conclusion.

"I had many times where I thought maybe I'm not cut out for this, or maybe the game has changed. I started to think that junior footy was different and maybe I was only able to play well in that," Kemp said.

"But every player would go through that. You always have the thoughts in your head, especially when you're injured, that you might not be able to ever get to the level that you thought you should have.

"That's why you place such a heavy importance on being able to get the mental side of your game so right. I did a lot of work with Dr Tara Kavanagh, our club psychologist, around getting that mental preparation right and getting the confidence and self-belief back in my game."

Kemp also credits the leadership of Weitering and the arrival of the club's development coach Brad Ebert as being key factors in his improved form this season, but it was during his exit meeting with coach Michael Voss last year where the 22-year-old sorted out the plan that would prove so pivotal to his consistency.

Last season, Kemp had started the year playing as a marking option in the forward line at reserves level. He then came into Carlton's team amid a defensive crisis halfway through the campaign, playing as an intercept defender. He managed four appearances, before ultimately returning to the forward line for the VFL finals.

This year, though, Kemp's role was set before a ball had been kicked. In his exit meeting over the summer, Voss had made it clear that he was going to play as a defender and as a defender only. He has since flourished when given the chance to find form and continuity in a single role.

Not only has that proved crucial in Carlton's return to September, but also in last Friday night's elimination final win over Sydney. Whether he thought he would be here or not, the Blues are glad he is.

"I was, and still am, open to my strengths of being able to play multiple positions," he said.

"Vossy and I, we sat down last year and pieced together what we wanted to go after. We always wanted to keep the prospect of me being able to play multiple positions or play forward up our sleeve, but we just all agreed that we wanted to go after one role and being really clear on that.

"I still like the idea of being able to play multiple positions, depending on what happens in a game or if there are areas I need to fill. But the continuity of just locking in one role and really going after that, it was good for me. It just gave me that clarity that I needed, in terms of what I wanted to go after.

"It's been really pleasing. It's been an up and down journey, but I've enjoyed this year."